


Playing Games

by saintvic



Category: The Professionals
Genre: Character Study, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-06-07
Updated: 2010-06-07
Packaged: 2017-10-09 23:45:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/92879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saintvic/pseuds/saintvic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A look at how George Cowley thinks and the games he plays.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Playing Games

Having just finished a celebratory drink with his top team Cowley sat at his desk and examined the events of the day. After a lot of hard work another operation had been successfully concluded. The arms dealers had been located, the buyers caught, and the backers identified. All told this one could go down as a win.

Cowley liked to think of his work, and therefore the life that he lived, as consisting of a series of games. This perspective was not meant to trivialise what he and his agents accomplished. He may view this as a game but it was not frivolous.

In a game there were clear objectives and outcomes, opposing players, team members, and rules to follow (and be ignored if needed). But the most important point was that there was always a winning side and a losing side. The simple fact was that Cowley knew he had to win, for the opposition to prevail was unacceptable.

He suspected that if you asked his agents why he was so good at winning they would say it was because he cheated. And he did, and was happy to do so as the outcome was the most important factor. But the real reason behind his success was that he understood the games being played and the participants in them. He knew how to position the pieces and time his moves.

This understanding and skill often gave others the impression that he always knew what was going to happen and that he controlled everything around him. This was not true. He was not prescient, but he could anticipate and plan, he could work out the variables and make moves to alter them for his benefit, he was not infallible, but he was adaptable and influential.

Of course Cowley knew he thrived on this. He could admit to himself that the competition kept him alive, kept him active, made him think, and gave him a purpose. Playing these games was just as essential for him as they were for the society he lived in. And with that thought Cowley decided that was enough musing for the night. He pulled the new file in front of him and began analysing its contents and working out a strategy to win this new game.


End file.
